The dead body of a man with a self-inflicted gun-shot wound found at 8:45 p.m. at Piney Point Park last night is believed to be the same man suspected of murdering a Queen City woman late Tuesday and critically injuring another.
“We’re not sure it’s 50 percent him,” said Cass County Sheriff Larry Rowe. “We’re 100 percent sure.”
The Queen City Police Department’s Investigation into the murder of Marshantha Latrice Frank, 27, is still ongoing even though the suspect, Leon Minniefield, 55, is now believed dead.
“The body of a black male matching the description of Minniefield was located outside of Queen City in Cass County at the Piney Point boating area at Lake Wright Patman around 8:45 p.m. last night,” said Queen City Police Chief Robert McGee.
The woman who remains in critical condition is still at Wadley Regional Medical Center. Her name has not yet been released.
An autopsy on Minniefield is pending and his body is being sent to Southwest Forensics, said Sheriff Rowe. His fingerprints also are being sent to the lab to positively confirm Minnifield’s identity.
The victim’s body has already been sent to Dallas for an autopsy.
According to Sheriff McGee, it appears that there was a dispute between Frank and Minniefield about personal matters and this may have been the driving force behind this murder. It has not been determined what the dispute may have been about, he added.
Queen City Police Department spent most to the day Tuesday following up on leads that were called in to the department. Most of leads provided no assistance in the case, according to Sheriff McGee.
Queen City Police Department did receive help, however, from the Texas Ranger Service, including assistance from Texas Ranger Jay Womack, who Chief McGee asked to head the investigation. The Texarkana, Texas Police Department also helped regarding the suspect and spent many hours working leads.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in working this case for their help,” Sheriff McGee said. “Although this investigation has come to a close regarding the suspect, it will take several weeks to compile all the information in this case.”